Bonding
by Spolied2perfection
Summary: Neela decided she doesn't particularly like the idea she's living with a stranger. Sure, she sees him at work. But how well does Neela really know Ray? It's a Reela
1. Chapter 1

**_Hey guys.Lets get its started._**

**_Disclaimer:I own anything.Please don't sue!_**

**_Summary: A lighthearted little fic about Ray and Neela getting to know each other better.It's a REELA!_**

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Ray walked into the dark apartment and threw his backpack to the ground. He knew Neela would yell at him later, but he left it there anyway. The only light in the room - eerie blue - came from the silent TV. Ray shrugged off his jacket and flopped, exhausted, onto the couch - failing to realize that Neela was fast asleep on it. With a shriek, she pushed Ray from on top of her, jumped off the couch, and ran to turn on the lights. 

"Ouch. See, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt," Ray told her standing up and rubbing his bruised elbow. "But maybe if you kiss it, it would feel better."

Smiling, Neela walked over and gave his elbow a hard squeeze.

"What was that for!" Ray exclaimed as he rubbed his hurt elbow.

"That was for disappearing. I haven't heard a word from you in a week. You weren't even considerate enough to leave a note to say you wouldn't be home. Then today you burst in and try to squish me to death. I was worried, Ray! You could have been dying, laying in a ditch somewhere, and I wouldn't have had a clue!" Neela yelled in anger. Her eyes were on fire and she was sending Ray a death glare.

"Awww, I didn't know you cared," Ray remarked smugly as he walked around Neela and over to the fridge.

Slightly taken aback and blushing furiously, Neela followed into the kitchen. She watched as he stuck his head in the fridge and looked through it.

"Of course I care. If you were dead, I would have to find a new roommate," she retorted as she pushed him aside and took out the beer he was looking for.

"Thanks." He took it from her and sat at the table knowing that she wasn't finished yelling at him. Usually he would have tried to defend himself, but watching an angry Neela was intoxicating.

"Do you know what's worse?" she asked

"What's worse than me being dead?"

Ignoring his comment, Neela continued her argument.

"I didn't know anything about you. I didn't know your blood type, or if you had any allergies, or your next of kin. I realized that I'm living with a stranger. We don't know anything about each other."

"We know lots about each other," he protested indignantly.

"We're like two ships passing in the night."

"Neela, we aren't ships, we're doctors," Ray stated as he walked over to the couch and plopped down. As he reached over to grab the remote from the coffee table, his roommate quickly snatched it away.

"I don't like living with a stranger," she said, getting angrier and putting her hands on her hips.

"I'm not a stranger. I'm your roommate, though times like these make me wonder why."

To his utter amazement, Ray enjoyed living with Neela. She cleaned periodically and did the laundry, which was always good. But the biggest advantage was seeing her in the skimpy little pieces of cloth she called clothes. If he came home unexpectedly he could sneak a peek but she would immediately change after his arrival. He and Neela were "just roommates", but he wasn't blind.

"I have an idea," Neela remarked happily with a sparkle in her eye, "we should bond."

"Bond. You mean cook, knit, and talk about what happened on Oprah," Ray said, deadpan. He thought about doing a lot of things with Neela but bonding wasn't one of them.

"No…we could hang out."

"I knew you couldn't resist my charm," Ray said teasingly as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Shut up, Ray," Neela snorted as she brushed it off, ignoring the shiver that coursed up her spine.


	2. Chapter 2

Title:Bonding

Author:Spolied2perfection

Rating:T

Disclaimer:I don't own ER.If I did it would be Ray and Neela! Please don't sue me! I'm broke!

Spoliers: Season 12

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Absorbed in her thoughts, Neela stood stirring her tea. Though her physical body was standing in her kitchen, her mind was someplace else. Clad in her warmest pajamas, she picked up her mug and began to trudge toward the sanctuary of her room. It was one of those rare nights she had nothing to do. No work, laundry, or cleaning. She wasn't frantically trying to find her shoes or avoiding Ray's band practices. She had finally accomplished something she been working at for weeks; she'd completed everything last thing on her list of things-to-do. 

Food shopping? Check! Call her parents? Check! Have the superintendent fix the leaks? Check! She hadn't one care in the world until…

"Anyone home?" Ray closed the front door with a bang, breaking the tranquility of the apartment.

"No," Neela responded grumpily.

She planned to spend the evening with a cup of tea and a book. She highly doubted that could happen now. He opened her bedroom door and bounced on her bed, holding a wrapped a box.

"This is for you." He handed it to her and watched as she frantically unwrapped it. She looked like a small child on Christmas.

"Ohhh. Where did you find these? It's the middle of winter," Neela cooed, looking at her present.

It was a carton of plump, juicy-looking strawberries. She had been craving them for weeks and had complained that no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find them anywhere.

"I have my ways," he responded mysteriously, wiggling his eyebrows. She smirked, trying not to laugh at his ridiculousness. Her faced brightened as she opened the container and inhaled the sweet aroma.

"What's the catch?" Neela asked warily snapping the carton shut. "Do I need to take your shift…again?"

He scooted across the bed and laid down next to her, subconsciously drumming his fingers on her knees. Instead of moving, she kept her legs still - enjoying the feeling of his touch.

Ray looked at her quizzically and grinned. "You have no idea what today is, do you?"

"Laundry day." She had no clue what he was talking about.

"It's our anniversary. It's been two years since you moved in, Roomie."

She couldn't help but giggle. She was pleasantly surprised he remembered their anniversary; usually he couldn't even remember to pay the water bill.

"What?"

"I never saw you as the sentimental type, that's all."

The room went quiet as Neela opened the carton and retrieved a large strawberry. Ray watched, enraptured, as she lifted it to her mouth and took a huge bite.

He coughed slightly. "Well… I'll leave you to them."

He rose to get off the bed but Neela stopped him. "Want one?"

"Sure." He plucked one from the top and popped it in his mouth. "If I'd known they were this good I would have eaten them myself."

Neela gave him a stern look and pushed him away as he tried to take another, then got out of bed and ushered him to the door. "Good night, Ray."

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There you go. Enjoy, Enjoy. Thanks so much to Ash and for the reviews! I love them!Keep it up.

BTW: I have no idea where this is going, so it might take alwhile. Sorry :(


	3. Chapter 3

Neela shuffled in the front door her arms bursting full of grocery bags. She placed her purchases on the table and turned to put the milk away when…

"Watch it!", Neela huffed when Robin, Ray's flavor of the month, walked into like she wasn't even there.

Everyone in their building knew Robin or knew of her. From the super, to the delivery men, and about half the male population of the building. Ray really knows how to pick them, she thought to herself.

Spinning around she gave Neela's clothes a disapproving stare before saying, "You're home."

"Keen observation." She muttered under her breath as she began to put cereal into the cabinets. "Where's Ray?"

"Went for coffee." Robin told her as she scapulaed on foundation like her life depended on it.Neela watched in amazement as she added another layer but something caught her attention.

"Is that my necklace?", She asked, her voice's pitch rising dangerously. She marched over and grabbed the gold chain hanging around Robin neck.

"This thing? It could be, I don't know." Robin looked down at it nonchantly.

"Did you find it on my dresser?" She gritted her teeth with impatience.

"Oh… that's where I got it. Can I, like, borrow it?"

"No." Neela said firmly and stuck out her hand palm up.

"Ewww. You don't have to get an attitude. You act like it something special or something. It's probably not even real gold."

"It's special to me and I would like if you would stay out my room while you're _visiting._",Neela was really surprised how slow she was.

"This is ray's apartment, too." Robin whined putting her hands on her hips. Neela thought she looked like a rather ugly child throwing at temper tantrum.

"Well it's _my_ room."

Suddenly Robin got very serious and pinched her face, "I don't need the attitude, alright.I was trying to be nice. But now …"

"What are you going to do? Kick me out of my own apartment?", Neela rolled her eyes and went back to putting thing in the fridge.

"No wondered your husband left you."

Neela froze mid stride. She stood frozen to the linoleum as is stuck with invisible super glue. She opened her mouth to say something witty and conniving but nothing happened. The sound that came out was a strangled cough. If it had been anyone else it would have been a slap to the face but it wasn't anyone else, it was _her_. An over sexed, most likely Chlamydia ridden tart.

Robin continued not noticing her indifference. "It won't be just your apartment much longer. I think ray's serious about me. He might even ask me to move in." Robin grinned smugly thinking that she obviously won the argument.

"Git."

"Wha?", asked Robin not understand.

"Get out of my home."Neela tried to keep her voice even and steady. She turned around slowly and gave her a bone chilling stare that could have killed.

"You can't throw me out. I'm Ray's guest." Robin stayed put deciding she was going without a fight.

"I don't give a bloody hell who you are. You could be the Queen."Neela strode over to the door and flung it open with all her might. There was Ray balancing two cups of coffee and trying to knock.

"Ray! Thank god you're here!" Robin said breathlessly and ran over to him almost knocking him off balance in the process.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."Neela said as she threw Robin's purse into the hall. Ray just stood in awe as the purse flew pass his head.

"What the-" , Robin followed suit and Neela slammed the door with a satisfying _BANG._ She stood with her head resting against the door and started breathing slowly in and out. She heard Ray and Robin bickering in the hallway, which only made her feel a little better.

"Knock, knock"

"You should be glad there's a door between us." She said through gritted teeth.

"The usual response is who's there, but we can do it your way too." Ray struggled to hold the coffee while Robin screeched in his ear and Neela barracked the door with her body. This wasn't exactly what he expected to come home to.

"Are you just gonna let her treat me like that?" Robin cried loudly.

"Can I call you later?" Without answering or even looking back she grabbed her bag and strutted down the hall to the stairs.

"Screw you! You two deserve each other!" She yelled without missing a beat. Ray sighed deeply thinking "another one bites the dust."

"How dare you Ray Barnett? How dare tell her my personal business!" Neela screamed angrily in his face. Well, in his shoulder because even on her toes she still couldn't stand face to face. He didn't feel like fight but he did have the urge to lean down and sniff her hair.

"I don't want to fight right now. Maybe I can schedule you in later." He pushed past her and put the coffee on the counter, finally.

"Don't want her knowing about me. I don't even want her breathing the same air. I probably have Syphilis." She nearly choked trying to get the words out. How could Ray deceive her trust like that? She would he rather tell Morris anything about her then tell Robin.

"I didn't mean anything by it. It came up over dinner. She asked about you and I told her about Michael and stuff." He really didn't see what the problem was.

"And stuff?"

"About how we moved in together and how we work together at the hospital." He had told her a little more but Neela was ready to attack so he kept it to himself.

Neela only response was to go to her room and close the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello... Hello... Anyone still here?

I'm sorry readers.I'm a bum but I'm back now. You forgive me?

To everyone that reviews thanks alot b/c I love reading ur feedback. Without further adu... Chapter 4!

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"Feeling a little home sick?", Ray asked her leaning against the door frame to her room. She sat on the floor with photos strewn all around. Pictures of her brothers, sisters, mom and dad, Michael and other miscellaneous people were smiling up at her. 

"If you can even call it that. I don't know where home is any more."

"Home is where you run _to_." He couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like to be Neela. So far from her family, friends, and husband, everyone she truly cared for. To top it off she was stuck with him.

"I guess you have a point." She looked at him sadly before picking up a framed picture of a teenage Neela standing next to pretty young woman. They were smiling brightly in the camera, hugging one another tightly. Desperately trying to end the silence he barreled on.

"Who's that?", he asked curiously

"My big sister, Anya.She was my best friend growing up and the black sheep of the family. No matter what I did, it was never worse than what she did."

"Sounds a little like my family. You are living with the Barnett family black sheep." He said modestly and took a bow.

"Lucky me." He knew she was waiting for an apology. She looked so sad sitting Indian- style on the carpet, it was kind of cute.

"Bout earlier…" He shuffled awkwardly trying to think of the "right" thing to say.

"Forget about it okay. I don't have time for your groveling. I should be use to this by now." She looked dejectedly at the pictures thinking about where she went wrong. This wasn't where she was supposed to end up. This was the last place she envisioned herself to be. She imagined a lot of crazy thing in her youth but even this was out of her league.

Realizing we let her once again all he could say was, "Thanks for understanding, Neela. You know you're my best friend, right?" He helped her up and gave her a bear hug. His body engulfing her smaller one until hers almost disappeared. This was all that was needed to melt her anger away.

Two days later…

"Ray! I'm late! Where are my keys?" Neela scurried around the living room looking on the floor and table. Ray was enthralled so by the game he didn't hear a word. She continued to search until she realized she had lent them to Ray earlier that day. He had lost his at a friend's party the previous night.

"Ray. Keys. NOW!" She said as she turned off the television snapping him back to reality.

"Um.You see what happened was …"He trailed off desperately trying to think of a good reason that wouldn't make Neela want to scream.

"Today please." She glanced sourly at her watch. "I'm late as it is."

"I threw them in the pond by accident." Ray flinched reflectively, expecting her to lash out.

"You threw my keys into the pond." Neela said cautiously. She wasn't sure if she had heard the right thing." How did mange to do that?"

"I was feeding the ducks-" He avoided her gaze slightly embarrassed as he started the story.

"You were feeding the ducks in the park?" She stared at him with genuine curiosity and interest.

"Yes, feeding the ducks helps me unwind after a long day. So this afternoon I put some bread in my pocket and went to the park. I was pulling the bread out my pocket and started to feed the ducks and your keys were in the same pocket." He gave her a puppy dog face in hope of a lesser punishment.

"Are you telling my keys are at the bottom of the pond?" Neela asked, trying to make sense of what Ray had just told her.

"Yes."

"Bloody hell, Ray. No matter though, you'll just have to come with me. If I leave unattended you might burn down the building."

"I'm not that incompetent." Ray protested indignantly.

"Whatever you say." She said in a disbelieving tone. "You're still coming." Tossing him a jacket and they headed out the door.

Twenty (long) minutes later…

"Are we even in Chicago?" Ray had been walking so long he had no idea where they were.

"If you had your car keys we wouldn't have this problem." Neela snapped as she turned another corner.

"You're not gonna let that go, are you?"

"Not anytime soon." She stopped walking and turned around "Stop your whining we're here."

He looked up at shabby apartment building and watched as she marched through the front door. Thankful he didn't live there, he apprehensively walked through the threshold. Neela was already down the hall and around the corner so, he hurried after her.

"We have to take the stairs; the elevator is broken…again." Three stories, two drug dealers, and one crack head later she stopped at a door. The door flew open before Neela even raised her hand to knock.

"Girl, I thought you forgot about us. What took you so long?" A young black girl answered the door looking excited and out of breath. Her large pregnant stomach protruded through the open door and into the hall.

"So sorry I'm late but I had some technical difficulties." She glared at ray who gave a sheepish grin.

"It's all good sweetie." She gave Neela a tender hug before scrunching her face and looking at Ray with a puzzled expression. Neela rolled her eyes in his direction and gave the younger lady an annoyed look.

"Aren't a little old to be babysat?" Neela clearly didn't warn her about him tagging along for the ride.

" Aren't you a little young to be pregnant?" At this quip her face broken into an evil grin and she let out a laugh.

"Touché"

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Well there you go guys. Leave me some reviews.You know i love it! 


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello? Anyone out there? *cricket cricket***

**Honestly I completely forgot about this. I haven't been on this site in years. Even reading my bio was a flashback. It was like stepping back into my 16 yr old self. Enough about me though... I wrote this short chapter because I doubt anyone will even read it. Can't say I didn't try. If anyone is till out there let me know lol**

**With Love**

**-J **

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County hospital was no place for the faint of heart. Ray saw things everyday that most people couldn't stomach seeing on their best day. No matter how much he complained about his job he loved every minute of it and wouldn't trade it for the world. Even his love for music couldn't combat the feeling of saving a life. Despite all of these years later he was still getting used to Chicago. If he had to pick one word to describe the city it would be…

"So you gonna stand in the hall and wait to get robbed? Or you gonna bring ya ass inside my humble abode? Pick ya poison…", the young girl said clearly annoyed. "Neela, I already don't like him."

Ray was so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't realized Neela had disappear into the apartment. Ray was still standing in the hall with the girl staring into his face confused.

"That's no way to talk to an adult." Ray responded as he walked into the project apartment slamming the door behind him.

As Ray followed the girl through the apartment into the living room she retorted, "No matter how old I am I will always be older than you. Believe that white boy. Just cause you have a couple tattoos you think you're tough. I know middle-schoolers with more tats. You look sweet".

" Listen here Ms. Thing- ", Ray started before his eyes adjusted to dim light and he got a good look around the living. There had to be at least eight pregnant teenagers sitting in a lopsided circle eating and chatting with Neela.

A girl on the couch started laughing so hard she almost choked. "Sharay! What did he call you?! See this is what happens when white people watch BET." The room of females erupted with laughter Neela included. Knowing when to quit Ray shut his mouth and sat on an open stool.

"Ladies, that's enough for now. Can you at least feed my friend before you tear him apart? I don't think he can handle all of this at once" Neela giggled looking at Ray's distressed face from her seat at head of the circle. After hearing her giggle Ray couldn't even stay as mad he wanted. He wouldn't admit that to her though. Women , especially pretty ones, have always been his weakness. Many of his wildest stories included a beautiful woman.

Clearing her throat Sharay spoke, "Grab at plate and get comfortable white boy".

"My name is Dr. Ray Barnett. I'm Neela's coworker at County General." Ray tried to regain upper hand over the teenager.

"My name is Sharay Bailey. Sister, daughter, friend, and soon to be mother. Being a doctor is suppose to mean something to us", she said gesturing at the other used to Sharay's theatrics the girls continued chatting happily with Neela.

Watching Sharay , her headstrong and very pregnant ex-patient, go toe to toe with Ray was priceless. Ray usually had a way with women of all ages, colors, and sizes. It had always annoyed her to no end the way he flirted. It seemed second nature and he used it to his advantage whenever he fancied. He had a way with women and she had a way with books. Obviously when God was handing out talents she wasn't at the top of the list. Yes, she had Gallant but…

"Ladies, stop playing with Ray and let's get this meeting started. And by ladies I really mean Sharay." Neela shot her glare that made the teen finally take her seat. "Ray have some macaroni and cheese. It's very delicious and might change your disposition around"

Sharay grinned obviously happy she won their argument."Alright Dr. Neela lets get this meeting started. I have so much to talk about."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey Guys. I was more than surprised that I actually got reviews when I uploaded my last chapter. It has literally been YEARS since I was I uploaded anything. It's been years since I had written something that wasn't being graded for class. Please bare with me, because this is a work in progress. Excuse the typos and I know there are some. No matter how many times I reread I never catch them all.**

**Please leave some feedback! Just let me know someone is reading it**

**With Love,**

**-J**

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"Take care of my girl . If she goes missing please remember I know where you work." Sharay said seriously from the doorway as she watched Ray & Neela disappear into the dark hall.

Ray looked back and smiled sarcastically, "It was nice meeting you too".

"Whatever", Sharay snapped before slamming the door loud enough to wake the neighbors

Neela smiled up at him happily, "Aren't they sweet girls? I had fun tonight Ray. Didn't you?"

" Ovaries, leaking, periods, placentas, leaking, fluids, and discharge. Yep, sounds like my kind of night.", Ray huffed as they walked down the millionth stair.

A hint of sadness swept across her face for a second before she answered, "Well ... Ray... I enjoyed myself. Sometimes when I'm missing Gallant these girl brighten my whole week."

Neela straightened her head and quickened her pace. Just like that the moment was gone and Ray felt like he missed it. This was the exact reason he played guitar in the band. He couldn't sing, but more importantly he wasn't eloquent enough to pen songs. He could make the guitar speak the words his lips couldn't form. Music had a way of picking up where his words left off. He needed to do or say something, anything , to fix his mistake.

"Watch out for the puddle!", Ray yelled before swiftly grabbing Neela and throwing her unceremoniously over his left shoulder. Shocked, Neela yelped in surprise as Ray carried her the rest of the way to the car. Ray's hair became tousled as an icy breeze suddenly blew. She caught the scent of her vanilla shampoo on his hair and chuckled to herself

"C'mon I'm hungry and you're buying. All this talk about vaginas has worked up my appetite.", Ray said as he dropped her by the passenger side door.

Rolling up her brown eyes Neela sighed, "I swear Americans say whatever comes to their mind. No one has a filter in this country".

"Filters are overrated", he responded from inside his car

Ray snuck a peek at Neela's face in darkness. Even in the dark somehow her bronzed face shone brightly. She really was beautiful ,despite how she continuously tried to downplay it. It actually angered him sometimes that she refused to acknowledge what everyone , including himself, can see. Catching him staring Neela nervously struck up a conversation.

"I did learn some valuable information about you tonight", she smiled devilishly as she rubbed her frigid hands together

"Which was what? Enlighten me." Ray pulled out the complex and veered the car towards home.

"Your charm does not seem to work on black women. Those girls were less than impressed by the great Ray Barnett. Even the black nurses at work don't become unsettled whenever you turn it on".

Ray looked at her shocked and scoffed, "I'll have you know I'm southern boy at heart. I love black women and they love me. "

"Well excuse me Huckleberry Finn", Neela joked

"Huckleberry Finn?"

" Yes, I've been catching up on my American literature lately. Figured I should become more versed in American culture. Especially since I have no plan on moving back to England anytime soon."

Ray suddenly switch lanes cutting off two cars and a tow truck without looking back. Neela gripped the door handle for dear life.

"I can't have you reading these outdated relics that I was forced to read in high school. America has come a long way since those books were written. Next thing you'll be quoting _To Kill A Mockingbird"._

_"_I read the book and watched the movie last week. It was so moving. I currently enjoying_ The Great Gatsby. _Is there a movie for that as well?" Ray looked at Neela's excited face and couldn't help but smile inside. She was the most interesting character, male or female, he had ever met.

"You want to learn about American culture? Don't worry, I got you roomie".


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